A Contemporary Minstrel From the Plains of Gaziler: Cuma Zeytünlü (Dertli Garip)
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Abstract
There are only a few studies concerning the tradition of Alawi saints in the literature. Cuma Zeytünlü, the subject of this paper, is from a region known as “Gaziler Ovacığı” where the tradition of saintship has been observed in Turkey. He is a minstrel who writes folk poetry by using pseudonym called “Dertli Garip” (Garip the Heavyhearted). In recent years, there have been a significant transformation in the tradition of saintship, revealed by the way in which some saints call themselves as “contemporary dervishes”. In this article, the so called transformation of “contemporary dervishes” is exemplified through the case of Cuma Zeytünlü who lives in Amasya, Gümüşhacıköy.
The methodological framework of this study is based on an analysis of the world of meaning by using participant observation, interviews, and recording non-written folk poetry examples between 2005-2018. In this analysis, which focuses on tackling the theme of “contemporary dervishes”, the major methodological grounds of this article also rests on his biography, eleven poems written by minstrel Zeytünlü, his interpretations on his own poetry. For this reason, the basic subjects of meaning world of Cuma Zeytünlü, namely dervish identity, musahiplik (companionship), reincarnation, love, spiritual wisdom, dede identity, death and nafs, have been analyzed in this article. In the mean time, the ways in which newly emerging tradition of saintship de-emphasizes the notion of spirituality is another theme in the process of gaining new talents.
The theme of contemporary and traditional divide in understanding the tradition of saintship is another important issue in this article. While the traditional saintship emphasized spirituality through their poetry as well as their counselling on practical problems, in contemporary saintship the importance of rational argumentation and narratives is revealed more clearly. The more he distanced himself from the spiritual tradition of saintship the more he associated himself with the sphere of rationality and science, which has been coded as the major values of the contemporary saintship.
Cuma Zeytünlü, who disassociates himself from the spiritual interpretations, is a good example of some Alawi people who also distance themselves from mystical orientations in Alawi culture. Although he was not educated in the modern sense, the folk poet covered in this paper, has been trying to adapt change caused by modernization into his own tradition. This article has analyzed these processes.
Keywords: Dertli Garip, the Plains of Gaziler, Bektashi people, contemporary dervishes, minstrels.
The methodological framework of this study is based on an analysis of the world of meaning by using participant observation, interviews, and recording non-written folk poetry examples between 2005-2018. In this analysis, which focuses on tackling the theme of “contemporary dervishes”, the major methodological grounds of this article also rests on his biography, eleven poems written by minstrel Zeytünlü, his interpretations on his own poetry. For this reason, the basic subjects of meaning world of Cuma Zeytünlü, namely dervish identity, musahiplik (companionship), reincarnation, love, spiritual wisdom, dede identity, death and nafs, have been analyzed in this article. In the mean time, the ways in which newly emerging tradition of saintship de-emphasizes the notion of spirituality is another theme in the process of gaining new talents.
The theme of contemporary and traditional divide in understanding the tradition of saintship is another important issue in this article. While the traditional saintship emphasized spirituality through their poetry as well as their counselling on practical problems, in contemporary saintship the importance of rational argumentation and narratives is revealed more clearly. The more he distanced himself from the spiritual tradition of saintship the more he associated himself with the sphere of rationality and science, which has been coded as the major values of the contemporary saintship.
Cuma Zeytünlü, who disassociates himself from the spiritual interpretations, is a good example of some Alawi people who also distance themselves from mystical orientations in Alawi culture. Although he was not educated in the modern sense, the folk poet covered in this paper, has been trying to adapt change caused by modernization into his own tradition. This article has analyzed these processes.
Keywords: Dertli Garip, the Plains of Gaziler, Bektashi people, contemporary dervishes, minstrels.